Angels of Hazzard
by CrazyKaty55
Summary: Charlie Danvers was a fiery young woman. And who loves fiery young women more than the Duke boys? LukeOC cuz there just ain't enough!, rated M for minor smut in later chapters and heavy language.
1. And you are?

A/N: Hey y'all. While I'm not new to the fanfic scene, this _is_ the first DoH fic I've written. I recently got introduced to this amazing series by the 2005 movie. Now I know a lot of die-hard fans have been bashing the movie – me personally? I went to see it five times in the theater and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, now that it's out on DVD.

Now this is a Luke Duke/OC fic, because I just feel there aren't enough out there. If that ain't your particular brand of whiskey, look elsewhere. But if that ain't the case, that little scroll down button is achin' for some attention. Enjoy!

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!"

You guessed it. Bo and Luke Duke were at it again.

"Bo, let's move! We still gotta drop off this package for Daisy and it's gettin' dark. You know Uncle Jesse'll tan our hides if we're late for chores."

"Yeah, I know Luke, but Cooter just got those new parts into the General and I want to see what he can all do now! C'mon cuz, you've been dyin' to try him out too, I know it," Bo wheedled, trying to get his older cousin to forget responsibility for a few minutes. Like usual, it worked.

"What 'zactly didja have in mind, cuz?" Bo grinned his daredevil grin and wrenched the wheel to the right, urging the General over the hill towards Hazzard's best set of backroads.

Daisy Duke had finished her shift at the Boar's Nest and was waiting for the boys to pick her up. Dixie had been acting pretty temperamental the past few days and Uncle Jesse had finally convinced the boys to take the jeep to Cooter's.

Suddenly, Daisy heard her uncle's truck pull up outside the bar. Worried that something might be wrong, she hurried outside to find Luke driving, looking like he had been put through the wrecker.

"What in the world happened to you?" she demanded. "Where's Bo and the General?"

"Cooter's," Luke replied, and that one word explained it all.

"What'd y'all try to do now?" she asked, climbing in the passenger door.

"Hey, this time it ain't our fault." Daisy raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Really! Some jackass came outta nowhere and pinned us to a tree, then took off." Luke shook his head and began to drive to Cooter's to meet Bo and find out the damage to their beloved car.

He and Daisy found Bo outside the garage, practically beside himself with grief.

"How bad is it?" Luke asked, putting a hand on his cousin's shoulder.

"Cooter says it may take weeks to get him up and running again," Bo replied dully, in shock. The General was the one of the most important thing in the world to him. Ranked right up there with girls and family. Knowing this, Daisy sat down next to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm so sorry Bo," she comforted her older cousin while Luke went inside to speak with Cooter.

It was dark in the garage, and Luke couldn't see a thing. "Cooter? Are ya in here?"

"Over here," Cooter called, his voice muffled. Luke turned to his left and saw an industrial lamp illuminating the bent hood of his car and the mechanic halfway inside it. The stocky brunette picked his way over to his buddy and when he got close enough, could see the full extent of the General's damage.

"Oh man," he sighed, running a hand through his short hair.

"Yeah," Cooter replied, extracting himself from the hood. "Y'all got 'im good this time. Bo said something about a hit and run?"

"Mmm-hmm. Some guy in a green sedan. Never saw him comin'."

"You boys're lucky the General's the only one outta commission. Y'all coulda been hurt real bad the way you was wrapped around that tree."

"Do me a favor and don't mention that to Jesse or Daisy. You know they'll just fret." Cooter nodded and then climbed back under the hood.

"How's he lookin' darlin'?" Cooter asked. For a moment, Luke thought the fumes had finally gotten to the man, but then a female voice answered from under the car.

"It ain't good Cooter. Gonna take a miracle to get him back up to speed." And a young woman rolled out from under the General's frame to stand up with a concerned look on her face.

"And just who in the name of heaven are you?" Luke demanded, stunned that there was a woman working on his and Bo's beloved car.

"Charlie Danvers. Who the hell are you?" she retorted.

"Oh that's right, y'all haven't met yet. Luke, this here is my cousin's aunt's sister's…aw hell all I know is she's family. Charlie, this is the one and only Luke Duke. He and his cousin Bo give me more business than the rest of Hazzard County combined. The General here is their pride and joy."

"And battering ram, I see," the young woman quipped.

"Now see here, that ain't how it happened at all," Cooter began, trying to defend his friends, but Luke cut him off.

"Let her think whatever she wants Cooter. Ain't none of her business anyways. I just need to know how much this is gonna cost."

"I don't rightly know yet Luke. Tell you what, y'all come by tomorrow, I should have some idea by then. Sound good?" The tall brunette nodded his thanks and left the garage to join his cousins out front.

"Well?" Daisy looked up expectantly.

"Won't know till tomorrow. Right now we gotta get home. Uncle Jesse's steamed as it is, no need for it to get worse." The three cousins climbed into the truck and headed for their farm, having had enough excitement for the day.

"Somethin' botherin' you, son?" It was late and Luke had thought the household was asleep. He was out on the porch, thinking, when Uncle Jesse had appeared out of nowhere, like usual. Luke was so used to it now he didn't even jump anymore.

"Nah, just couldn't sleep." Jesse chuckled and raised his eyebrows, not believing his oldest nephew.

"Son, you couldn't lie to me when you were a little boy and you still can't do it now when you're almost a grown man." Luke sputtered at the "almost" comment, but saw the twinkle in Jesse's eyes and grinned. But the grin faded quickly away.

"Nah, it's just this girl – "

"It always is," Jesse replied wisely.

"'S not like that Uncle Jesse. She's workin' with Cooter on the General and just wouldn't stop insultin' me."

"Cooter's got a girl workin' with him? Since when?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. He says she's family."

"Well did you think to ask Daisy? She knows just about everything goin' on in this town, working at the Boar's Nest." Luke shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not a big deal, she just rubbed me the wrong way is all. I'm goin' back to bed Uncle Jesse. Sorry if I woke you." And with that, he was back in the house.

Jesse shook his grizzled head and chuckled, having a feeling of what was to come.


	2. Fire Zone

The next day, the boys were back at Cooter's, anxious to learn the cost of damages to the General.

"Geez, it looks worse in daylight," Luke muttered.

"Well y'all've wrecked just about everything there is to him," a familiar voice answered back. "What'd you think he'd look like?" _Oh, just what I need,_ Luke groaned to himself.

"Listen missy," he began. "I don't know who you are and I don't know why you're here. But it's no business of yours what we do with our cars? So would you knock it off?" Charlie cocked an eyebrow at Luke, giving him the once-over.

"Buddy, I just happen to be the one fixin' up this piece of junk for you. So I suggest you quit tellin' me what to do, otherwise it'll take even longer for him to be ready? You read me?" Luke's jaw dropped.

"You threatin' me? Cuz I can play that game, little lady!"

Which is when Cooter and Bo came in. Immediately they recognized a fire zone when they saw it, and paused before making any sudden moves.

"What's goin' on in here?" Bo asked, eyeing the girl he hadn't been introduced to yet.

"Nothin'," Luke replied, turning away from Charlie. "What's this gonna set us back Cooter?"

"Couple thousand at least. And that's without all them new parts y'all had installed recently." Luke's head dropped in frustration.

"Where the hell are we gonna get that kinda money?" he muttered.

Hating to see his cousin like this, Bo jumped in. "Don't worry Luke, we'll figure somethin' out. Cooter, just get it so we can drive him, alright?" Cooter nodded, wishing there was more he could do as the boys walked out of the garage. Then he turned to Charlie.

"What in tarnation was that all about?" he cried. "You're not in town three days and already you've gotten yourself involved with one of the Dukes!"

"Involved my ass. He's just an arrogant country boy who thinks he knows more than me about cars cuz he's a man." Charlie was pretty steamed about the whole deal too, and told Cooter she needed to cool off, take a drive or something.

"Take the truck. Go on to the Boar's Nest and say hi to Daisy for me."

"Which one's Daisy?" she asked, taking the keys from his grease-covered hand.

"Trust me honey, she'll find you. Now git!"

Cooter was right. Daisy found Charlie real fast. The moment she stepped into the tavern, she was greeted by a tall, leggy blonde in heels, with shorts so short there was little point to them.

"You Daisy?"

"Sure am, sugah. Can I get you somethin'?" Surprised that Cooter was allowed within fifty feet of this angel, Charlie nodded.

"Beer, please. I'm supposed to tell you that Cooter says hey," she dutifully relayed the message as she took a seat at the bar. "I'm his family, Charlie."

"Welcome to Hazzard hunny. Isn't that sweet of Cooter? Did y'all find out how much it's gonna cost to get the General runnin' again?" _Wow, news travels fast,_ Charlie thought, not knowing who Daisy was.

"Couple thousand." Daisy winced. "Yeah, they got him real good."

"What else is new? You'll come to find out those boys get into more trouble than you can shake a dead cat at. But enough about them. How'd you find yourself in our little corner of the world, darlin'?"

Charlie felt comfortable talking to Daisy, and was about to answer, when she spotted the Duke boys entering the Boar's Nest. And to her dismay, they were headed straight for her.

"Howdy boys," Daisy greeted them cheerfully. "This here's Charlie, but I guess y'all have already met. Charlie, you know my cousins, Bo and Luke."

Charlie blinked her pretty green eyes in shock. "Your cousins? You're related?" Following where she was headed, Luke chimed in.

"It gets even worse; we live together." Charlie glared at him for the sarcasm.

"Guess it can't get much worse than that," she snapped.

"Whoa, alright you two," Daisy cut in sharply. "No fighting in my bar. Y'all can take it outside if you're gonna keep actin' stupid." And when Charlie glanced her way, she could tell the blonde beauty meant it. She wouldn't hesitate to throw both her new friend and her cousin out on their asses.

"I gotta get back to work," she muttered. "Thanks for the beer Daisy." And she was gone.

"Is this how it's gonna be now? You two chase each other out of place after place till there's nowhere left?" Bo asked, only half teasing. Luke had filled him in on the details earlier.

Ignoring his cousin and best friend, Luke asked Daisy for a beer and a ham sandwich. She shook her head at his stubbornness, but went to get it for him.

"Never knew you to let a girl throw you around like that, cuz. She's really gettin' to you, isn't she?" Bo teased. Luke just glared at him, but that had never phased the young blonde before. And he didn't stop until Daisy threatened to throw him out as well.

"Don't listen to him Luke. She'll come around. Didn't seem to me like she trusts a lot of people. Just take it easy with her." Luke looked up from his beer, a questioning look on his face.

"Daisy, I'm not tryin' to date the girl. Even I don't go for she-demons."

"Luke Duke if I wasn't workin' I'd beat you so good! All she's done is show some backbone around you and all you can do is be a big jerk about it!" And Daisy stomped off in the opposite direction, so mad that she didn't even hear Luke call after her.

"What was that all about?" he asked Bo, stunned by Daisy's behavior.

Bo shook his head. "Women. C'mon, let's get outta here."

Later that night, Daisy wasn't speaking to Luke and refused to talk to Uncle Jesse or Bo about it. She didn't even eat with them, just asked Jesse for the keys to his truck and took off towards town.

Daisy didn't know where she was going, and about fifteen minutes later, she found herself on the road to Cooter's place. But before she even reached his house, she saw Charlie walking on the side of the road by herself. Parking the truck, Daisy got out and fell into step beside her.

The women walked in companionable silence until Charlie piped up and asked Daisy why she was out driving this time of night, when she should be home having dinner with her cousins. And at that, she went off.

"That big, stupid, arrogant jerk! Don't talk to me about him, Charlie. He's got me so mad right now!"

"This wouldn't happen to be a certain brunette cousin of yours, now would it?" Daisy nodded.

"That's the one!"

"What happened?" Daisy calmed down enough to realize if she told Charlie the whole truth of what had happened, she and Luke would never be able to bury the hatchet. And as mad as Daisy was, she didn't want that.

"Oh, somebody hurt his pride and his solution is just all bully and no brains."

"You talkin' about me, Daisy? Am I the one he's all bent outta shape over?" _Mighty perceptive little girl, isn't she? _Daisy thought to herself.

"Oh no, sugah, just one of the guys at the Boar's Nest, that's all." Daisy gave herself a pat on that back when Charlie seemed to take her story.

"You folks sure have one hell of a life out here. Bar fights, runnin' moonshine, car chases. Cooter tells me stories," she explained at Daisy's inquiring look.

"Yeah, we have our fun. Listen, it's late. Why don't you come back to the farm with me and stay a few nights? Let me show you the boys aren't all bad. And you haven't even met Uncle Jesse yet!"

"Oh gosh, there's more of you?" which made Daisy laugh.

"Just the four of us honey. So what d'you say? Will you come?" It only took Charlie a second to say yes, and they were headed to Cooter's to get some of her things. And then on to the farm.

"Uncle Jesse! I got company!" Daisy hollered as she walked in the kitchen door.

"Daisy! Good, you're back. I was startin' to get worried."

"Sorry, Uncle Jesse. I found Charlie here and we got to talkin'. She's gonna stay with us awhile, is that okay?" Jesse smiled a kindly welcome at Daisy's guest.

"Of course it is. Nice to meet you Charlie. You must be the young lady workin' with Cooter, am I right?"

"Yessir, Mr. Duke."

"Oh no child, call me Uncle Jesse. Everyone else does. Now have you eaten yet? The boys and I held off until you got back Daisy, and there's plenty of room for one more. Boys! Wash up and get down here! We got company!"

Suddenly there was a great thundering above her and moments later Bo and Luke appeared on the steps, still pulling on clean shirts. Charlie was treated to a very nice view of Luke's tightly muscled chest and abs before he finished buttoning his shirt up. Then he looked up, saw her, and stopped dead in his tracks.

He would have been frozen that way, except Bo ran into him from behind and jerked him into moving. The whole thing had been so fast, Charlie wasn't even sure if she'd seen what she thought she had. Realizing she'd been gazing at Luke for some time now, she tore her gaze away and began helping Daisy set the table, needing something to do.


	3. Late Nights and Bathroom Issues

When Luke heard Uncle Jesse say they had company, he never imagined who it might be. And when he saw Charlie standing in his kitchen, staring at him with those amazing green eyes, he realized, albeit fleetingly, that she had seen him practically shirtless. But that thought quickly disappeared when he got a good look at the rest of her.

Every time he had seen her before, she'd been in coveralls and a ball cap with her hair tucked up underneath, and so streaked with grease he hardly could see her face. Now she had cleaned up and was wearing worn Levi's, a t-shirt that was too big for her, and she still had the ball cap on. But Luke thought she was the most stunning thing on the planet. And when she took off her cap to sit at the table, long layers of gorgeous russet-colored hair tumbled to the middle of her back. Luke just about swooned.

But he managed to keep it together all through dinner and the conversation afterwards. He even managed two whole sentences, something he was _very_ proud of in the presence of this backwoods goddess.

When Luke finally reached the safety of his room, he was able to let out a hearty, frustrated groan and fall face first down on his bed without embarrassing himself. Unfortunately, he had forgotten Bo was right behind him. That is, until his younger cousin began laughing long and hard. Then Luke was groaning for a whole other reason.

"Woo-hoo! I knew it! I had a feelin' earlier at the Boar's Nest, but then I saw the way you kept fallin' over yourself at supper! Oooo-whee!"

"Oh Lord, was I that obvious? Shit!" Bo wanted to continue giving his cousin a hard time, but couldn't find it in him.

"Aw, don't worry cuz, she doesn't suspect a thing. Probably thinks you two are still at war." Luke had forgotten about that.

"Oh no! What am I gonna do? I don't want her to think that!"

"Hell if I know! Ask Daisy. But watch it, she was talking about stickin' lit firecrackers in your pants earlier." Luke winced and nodded in agreement. Then, realizing there was nothing more he could do that night, he tried to get some sleep.

No such luck.

Once again he found himself outside on the back porch, listening to crickets and watching the stars. Just as he was starting to drift off, he heard a muffled thud through the screen door, followed by a curse. Luke grinned, recognizing the voice instantly.

"C'mon out Charlie. I ain't gonna bite." A silent moment passed, and then Luke heard the screen door open. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Charlie in a pair of boxer shorts and a man's shirt that was, once again, far too large for her. Trying real hard not to focus on where the shirt gapped in the front and he could see her bra, Luke gave her an easy smile and gestured to the seat beside him.

She sat in it readily enough, but long years of working with animals told Luke that she was nervous as hell. So he did what he would do with any animal in that situation; he sat back and tried to appear non-threatening. And sure enough, after awhile, Charlie began to relax.

"Listen, about earlier. I didn't mean to be such a jerk."

"Yes you did."

"Well, okay, but I'm sorry about it. Truce?" And Luke held out his hand for a shake. She eyed him warily, but agreed.

"Truce." His hand was rough and callused from the hard work of keeping up a farm, but still gentle enough as to keep her hackles from rising.

"And I'm sorry about gettin' on your case earlier. It's just a little rough bein' the new girl in town, who's also a mechanic."

"I believe it. What brings you to Hazzard anyways? We're not exactly up there for top places to live in the U.S." Charlie nodded, letting some of her dark hair escape the tie she had it in, and veil her face.

"Exactly. I don't want a big town where no one gives two shits. Here, folks give a damn. And that's important to me. Asides, Cooter's here, and he's the only family I got this side of the Mason-Dixon Line."

"Really? You sure as hell don't sound like no Yankee I've ever known."

"Lemme rephrase. No family down here _anymore_. Born and raised in Alabama, then Mama got sick of it. And we moved to New York." Charlie rolled her eyes.

"Guess it wasn't your shot of whiskey, huh?" Luke asked.

"Nuh-uh. Got back down here right after finishing college last month."

"Hey, a college girl! Don't suppose that degree had anything to do with automotive technology now, did it?"

"Nope. Learned all I know from my old man." Luke nodded.

"Well hot damn honey! You better keep us Duke boys around to fight off all them boys who're gonna be doggin' your every move. Trust me."

"And what makes you think I can't handle 'em m'self?" Luke thought about it a second and relented.

"I guess I overstepped my bounds. Anyways, if you can throw me off your case so well, you ain't gonna have no trouble. But I tell you, some of them boys ain't as gentlemanly as the Duke clan. Ask Daisy, she'll tell you."

"Anything else, Mr. Warden, sir?" Luke dropped his chin to his chest with a sheepish grin.

"I was doin' it again, huh?"

"Yup."

"Sorry. I'll work on that."

"Well, they say the first step is admitting you have a problem," she commented stoically.

"Admitting I have a - ! You know missy, you really take the cake! And after I'm trying to watch what I say and - !"

Luke's tirade was cut short when he noticed Charlie trying her damndest to keep from bursting out laughing.

"You little devil!" he cried and lunged to grab her and tickle her, but she was up and running before he had finished hollering. Always up for a good chase himself, Luke tore after her.

They chased each other for near ten minutes before Charlie finally jumped out and tackled Luke, pinning him most effectively to the ground.

"Holy hell! Never even heard you comin'! How'd you do that?" he demanded, breathing hard.

"Practice," she replied, panting a little herself.

"Well now that you've got me, what exactly d'you plan on doin' with me?" Luke asked, looking up into her emerald eyes, his bare chest pounding.

Realizing exactly where this could lead, Charlie immediately jumped off Luke and stood up, offering him a hand. Confused by her sudden change in attitude, Luke tried to look her in the face, but she kept turning away. About to demand an explanation, he suddenly remembered what Daisy had said, about taking it slow. So he changed tactics.

"Ready to go back to the house?" he murmured. Charlie looked up at him, obviously not expecting that, but nodded slowly. "Well then milady, allow me to escort you." And ever the charmer, Luke offered the young woman his arm with all the grace of a courtly gentleman. Shocked into laughter, Charlie took it and the two headed back to the house, and to bed.

Luke dropped Charlie off at Daisy's door, and taking a chance, he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, and was gone, leaving Charlie feeling like she had been blindsided.

Luke, on the other hand, had to make a serious effort not to cheer. He had taken a dare on the kiss and she hadn't clocked him for it! He shucked off his jeans and climbed between his sheets to drift off to dreams of piercing green eyes and a wickedly charming smile.

Daisy woke up the next morning to find Charlie hurriedly changing out of grass-stained pajamas and trying to hide her dirty feet. And that was better than a shot of coffee.

"What on earth were _you_ doin' last night? And who with?" the lively blonde asked eagerly. Charlie jumped. _Busted_.

"Don't go thinkin' like that Daisy Duke, cuz it's nothin' of the sort. I couldn't sleep last night – "

"I bet you couldn't."

"Will you hush! I went downstairs and saw Luke out on the porch. I tried to sneak back upstairs, but I hit my knee on the damn cupboard. He heard me and invited me outside. We started talking. And then we went back to bed."

"And the grass stains?"

"Oh those! I – uh…fell," Charlie finished lamely.

"With Luke on top of you?" Daisy asked with an oh-so-innocent look on her face.

"No, I was on top of him actually – "

"My, my, my! I never woulda thought!"

"Daisy! We were just playing tag and I caught him. We fell over. Nothing happened. Now will you stop? I don't want no one hearin' you!" Daisy eyed Charlie shrewdly for a few moments, then conceded.

"Okay, I believe you. But you know I'm gonna ask Luke about it too." Charlie shrugged.

"Hell of a lot I care, he's just gonna say the same thing."

"I take it y'all worked out your differences then."

"Mmm-hmm. Now will you tell Bo to get outta the bathroom? I gotta go!" Daisy chuckled and rolled out of bed. She went to the only bathroom in the house and pounded on the door.

"Bo! Hurry up! The rest of us need to get in there ya know!"

"Alright, alright, keep your shirt on!" Bo came out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist and sopping hair, which he shook all over Daisy. "Mornin' gorgeous," he teased.

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Would you get some clothes on! There are women in the house who don't wanna see you half-naked?"

"What about all naked? Cuz I can work that if you play your cards right," Bo teased. Daisy shooed him off, only to see Luke disappear behind the shower curtain.

"Get the door, will ya Daisy?" he asked. Sighing exasperatedly, she was about to follow through on his request, when Charlie slipped past her, not knowing Luke was already inside.

"Thanks Daisy," she said, pulled the door shut behind her and locked it. Daisy blinked and then disappeared before all hell broke loose.

Inside the bathroom, Luke had just realized someone was in there with him. He couldn't see who it was because the shower curtain was blocking his view, and a good thing too, otherwise Charlie would have gotten the Full Monty if she'd turned around.

"Who's in there?" she asked, hearing someone mutter an oath.

_Now look what you did. She never woulda known if you'd kept quiet,_ Luke berated himself. "It's uh…it's Luke."

"Oh geez Luke! I am _so_ sorry! I didn't know you were in here! Oh god the door won't open!" Charlie began getting anxious as she continually tried to open the door, but to no avail. Eventually, she stopped.

"Charlie? You still there?" Luke's slightly strained voice rose up over the curtain.

"Yep. Still here. Door's jammed."

"Well can ya holler for someone, I'm kinda in no position to be breakin' down any doors." Charlie remembered he was naked and found herself imaging what he might look like. Then she snapped back to reality.

"Oh! Right! Jesse! Daisy! Bo! Can anyone hear me? Hello?" No answer. "Uhm, they must all be outside doin' chores already."

"Or standin' right outside the door, havin' a good laugh," Luke commented wryly.

"Well, listen," Charlie said, trying to be practical. "This is no reason to keep us from getting ready. Agreed?"

"Sure." Right now Luke was trying to keep his mind off of his lower region, and was ready to agree to anything.

"So, you just go ahead and take your shower, and…and I'll take care of my business. Okay?"

"Right." And with that, Luke turned the water on as cold as it could go and tried to think virtuous thoughts.

Five minutes later, they had a whole other problem.

"Charlie can you hand me a towel?" A moment of silence.

"Luke, there are no towels." Luke froze.

"What?" he asked in a low voice.

"There aren't any towels," she repeated. "Bo must've taken the last one." Thinking of all the things he was going to do to his cousin when he got out of the bathroom helped Luke remain somewhat calm.

"Okay then, can you hand me my Levi's." Moments later, the jeans appeared through a crack in the curtain. "Thanks."

"No problem," Charlie replied in a clipped tone. _Uh-oh._

Luke pulled his jeans on and then pulled back the curtain. _The _one_ day I forget a complete change of clothes!_ "Uh, do you need to…" he motioned towards the shower.

"Well, I was planning on it. But under the circumstances, I think – "

"Listen here Charlie. We're both adults. And I'm not gonna jump your bones just cuz you're naked in the shower." _No matter how much I might want to._

"Fine." And Charlie stepped behind the curtain. Soon after, her clothes landed in a heap on the floor. Seeing as she'd been in the middle of changing, her clothing consisted of underwear and a big t-shirt.

As the water started running, Luke picked up the t-shirt to get a look at the size, which was the one of a very sturdy man. Not a slender young woman.

"Why is everything you wear three times as big as you are?" Luke asked.

"You're examining my clothes now?" she demanded. "I like my clothing loose, if it's any of your business."

"Loose is one thing darlin', but both Bo and I could fit in this shirt and still have room to spare. And we're not exactly featherweights. What's the deal?"

"What's with all the questions? Two days ago you couldn't stand to be near me, now you're questioning my clothes size? Get a hobby Lucas." Stung by her remark, Luke dropped the subject for the present time, and turned his attention to the door.

"I already told you. It's jammed. Don't you believe me?"

"Course I believe you. I was just trying for m'self is all. Why're you so damn defensive?"

"Same reason you're so arrogant. It's the way God intended it." Luke was torn on whether to be upset or amused by this remark. Then he realized fighting would get him nowhere, so he chuckled and was rewarded with an answering laugh.

"You about done in there? Sure takin' awhile."

"What's the rush? Besides, you men only got two things to worry about in the shower: pits and balls. Women have an entire body to worry about." _Speaking of women's bodies,_ Luke thought absentmindedly, but then shook it off.

"Uh-huh. You just want an excuse so you can use all the hot water."

"Well it's not like you're gonna need it anymore, and I'm not exactly feelin' charitable towards the others right now. Don't you think they'd have noticed by now that we weren't out doin' chores?"

"Unless this is some scheme of theirs."

"True. In which case I'm not feelin' charitable either." Luke grinned.

"You said it darlin'."

Finally, Charlie turned the water off and asked for her things. Luke tried to give it all to her without looking too hard at her underwear, but it didn't work, and soon he was imagining her in it. _Well, she's right about one thing. Sure won't be needin' the _hot _water anymore._


	4. Twenty Questions

Two hours later, Luke was sitting on the floor, Charlie was leaning against the far wall and both of them were jumpier than a couple of paranoid schizophrenics. And bored out of their minds, to boot.

"You wanna play a game?" Luke burst out after another twenty minutes of silence so taut with nerves, he could feel it.

Charlie looked up from the bug she'd been watching crawl along the floor. "What kinda game?"

"Well normally I'd say a drinking game, but we got no booze. So, twenty questions?" Charlie relaxed a little, thinking he'd had something else in mind.

"Sounds fine to me. You want to go first?"

"Alright. Where were you born?"

"Brunsville, Alabama. Same question."

"Downstairs in the living room."

"What? No shit." Luke nodded, happy to see her loosening up.

"Been here ever since."

"Wow."

"Okay, what'd you go to college for, if it wasn't auto technology?"

"Oh, it's kinda embarrassing."

"Honey, I barely graduated high school and had to fight tooth and nail to get into the Marines. Ain't no reason to be ashamed of _any_ college education." Charlie shrugged.

"If you say so. Medieval history."

"Now just how is that embarrassing?"

"Who in the hell is gonna wanna know about that kinda stuff down here?"

"Maybe not go to a class on it, but I sure wouldn't mind hearin' about it." Charlie shook her head in amazement.

"How on earth did you get to be like this?"

"Like what?" Luke asked, amused by her bewilderment.

"You race and build cars, you help your uncle run this farm, you helped raise both your cousins, you were in the Marines, have never lived anywhere but this very farmhouse, and you're interested in stuff that has long been passed over by most other people." _Like me,_ she found herself thinking.

"All the better for me. Guess all those other people just don't know what they're missin'," Luke replied with a half-smile, eyes sparking at her, causing Charlie's voice to catch in her throat.

"I…I meant the history stuff," she managed to choke out in a half-whisper. But Luke's eyes never wavered from her face.

"Course you did," he replied in a steady tone. Charlie couldn't tear her emerald eyes away from his blue ones and almost didn't notice him come closer until he was sitting directly in front of her. Her eyes widened, realizing what he was about to do.

Luke, seeing this, leaned back so he wasn't in her face and gently took her hand in his. With the other, he slowly reached up and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"Why is it that I get the impression you don't think you're worth anything?" Luke murmured, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. Embarrassed to be found out, Charlie reddened and dropped her eyes to the floor. But the man before her grasped her chin and pulled it up so she was looking straight into his eyes. "I don't ever want you to feel worthless or stupid around me. Okay? Not ever. You are one of the most astonishing, quick-witted and talented people I know. So don't you let anyone try to make you feel ashamed or otherwise. Cuz they're not worth the mud on your boots."

A single tear ran down Charlie's face and landed right on Luke's outstretched hand. Half a second later, he was right there beside her, arms around her, keeping her safe; gently stroking her hair and whispering soft reassurances in her ear as she shook with all the effort it had taken to keep her tears back for so long.

Luke held Charlie like that for the next few minutes as she was wracked with silent, heart-wrenching sobs. When the shaking stopped, he still held her, ready to let go if at any minute she decided she wasn't comfortable. Fortunately, that moment never came, and eventually Charlie was dry-eyed and still leaning her head into Luke's chest, subconsciously grasping for comfort and safety, something he more than willingly gave.

The oldest Duke boy was shouting with joy inside that he finally had this incredible woman in his arms. On the outside though, he only allowed himself a half-grin, as not to upset Charlie.

"You feel a little better?" he asked. Charlie nodded slightly, suddenly worn out. Luke kissed her temple fondly, eliciting a giggle from her.

"That tickles," she murmured, the smile apparent on her face.

"Yeah? Well I tell you what. You're too beat for any tickle fights right now, so how's about I owe you one. Sound good?"

"Uh-huh," Charlie managed to utter, before falling fast asleep.

Luke checked to make sure she wasn't going to wake up, then lifted her body off the floor and went to the door. He tapped it with his bare foot, heard some rustling and then the door swung open to reveal three expectant Duke faces.

"Y'all are the biggest bunch of schemers I've ever seen," he whispered, not really mad.

"How long have you known we were out here?" Daisy asked.

"I didn't," Luke deadpanned, and turned away to carry the sleeping woman in his arms to her bed.

Luke had every intention of just laying Charlie down under the covers and then leaving the room. But after tucking her in, he sat down to watch her sleep, just for a few minutes, he told himself. Those few minutes turned into five, then ten, then twenty and before he knew it, he'd been watching Charlie sleep for over an hour.

He was about to wrench himself from the room, when she began tossing and turning, appearing to be in the throes of a nightmare. Luke hurried to her side and after stroking her hair and murmuring wordlessly to her for a matter of moments, she slept on peacefully.

Then Luke forced himself out of the room, with one last look at her before closing the door.

Luke walked outside to find Bo under the hood of Uncle Jesse's truck, probably trying to tune it up more towards his liking. Luke walked over silently and banged his hand against the side of the truck, causing Bo to jump and hit his head on the hood.

He glanced over at Luke with a scowl on his face. "Very funny," he growled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, kinda like that little stunt y'all pulled with the bathroom door, huh?" Luke replied. Bo had the decency to at least get sheepish, which is more than Luke would've said for Jesse and Daisy. His uncle had merely smiled at him, while Daisy wouldn't wipe the smug look off her face.

"They put you up to it?" Luke relented, reading Bo's expression correctly.

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly try to stop it," his cousin replied, still feeling like he'd betrayed his best friend. Luke shook it off.

"Nah, don't worry about it. At least you let us have some clothes. Woulda been a hell of a lot worse if we'd been naked. Took her two hours to calm down as it was."

"She's real jumpy, huh?" Luke shrugged. "Why do you think that is?"

"Not real sure. But if she ever told me, I wouldn't be telling you, that's her business."

"Okay, okay. So what happened?" Luke rolled his eyes, knowing this had been coming.

"Nothing. We talked, she got upset, I gave her a hug and she fell asleep. End of story."

"Uh-huh. And all the guys are after Daisy cuz of her amazing ability with a socket wrench." Luke grinned, but still refused to tell Bo anything more.

"Sorry cuz, it was kind of a personal conversation."

"Alright, I know when to quit." Luke raised a brow in doubt, but kept his mouth shut. "Here, c'mere and help me with this camshaft, she's stuck." And with that, life was back to normal on the Duke farm.


End file.
